Watson Combat Robotics League Rulebook

Under construction

Disclaimer

These rules are subject to change. Competitors will receive notice of any updates through the official WCRL Discord.

Questions answered by an Executive Board Member in the official WCRL Discord serve as official revisions to the rules and shall be treated as such until the next formal release. The WCRL Executive Board will not answer rule-related questions in private communications; any private responses do not constitute official rulings and should not be treated as such.

The Watson Combat Robotics League Judging Committee and Executive Board reserve the right to remove any team from matches, tournaments, or the league at any time for any reason (including failure to meet safety or technical requirements) in their sole and absolute discretion. Each team is responsible for understanding and complying with all rules outlined herein.

Scope

The Watson Combat Robotics League is an officially recognized Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Student Organization under the oversight of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and facilitated by the Watson Combat Robotics League Executive Board.

The following rules have been constructed to be as unrestrictive to the design process as possible while balancing fairness to other competitors, arena damage, scheduling issues, and the safety of any and all competitors, crew, and audience members. Any discrepancies in the rules will be enforced based on the interpretation of the rules, as written, by the WCRL Executive Board.

Definitions

Arena:

Place where battles will take place. The arena is outlined in detail in section 6.

Bot:

Any movable combat robot that is designed by a WCRL team following the rules as they are outlined herein.

Competition Attachment:

A movable, 3D printed component that is attached to a bot that can seriously hinder, halt, or otherwise disrupt the operation of another bot (I.E., a bot's weapon).

Control System:

Any device used to send user input to the Bot, i.e. a remote control.

Inspection Checklist:

A document provided to teams prior to the tournament and/or any subsequent tournaments that outlines the most common rule violations to help ensure bots are in compliance with the rules contained herein.

Inspection Period:

A portion of the tournament, and/or any subsequent tournaments, in which bots are weighed, measured, and are otherwise verified to abide by these rules. Any bots who do not pass inspection by the end of the inspection period are not eligible to demonstrate/compete on that day.

Power Switch:

Mechanically and directly shuts off power to the entire bot as explained in section 5.8.

Competitors

Each team must register to compete in WCRL. Please follow instructions on https://wcrl.github.io/pages/join.html

Official bot name, team name, and attachment file names must be school-appropriate!

League Overview

Matches

There will six qualifying competitions per season, held in the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Fabrication Lab - Engineering Building E1. Two or more teams will compete against each other at each competition, with the competition being live-streamed.

Dates for qualifying competitions and tournaments can be found on our public WCRL Event Calendar.

Matches are 2 minutes long, but may be called early for safety concerns or if a winner is decided based on the below criteria.

Pinning

• For the first 1 minute: A bot can pin another bot for a maximum of 5 seconds before having to release the bot for a minimum of 5 seconds. The 8 second limit will be counted down by the WCRL Executive Board member in charge of the match.
• With less than 60 seconds remaining: If a bot is pinned for more than 5 seconds, the pinned bot will lose. The 5 second limit will be counted down by the WCRL Executive Board member in charge of the match.
• For teams competing with multiple bots, the rules on pinning are as follows:
  • If bots are equal weights: All bots must be pinned. If a bot is pinned during the eligible time, it may no longer be used.
  • If bots are unequal weights: A majority of the weight must be pinned in order to win.

Bot Control

• Bots who lose mobility will lose the match following the same 5 second countdown (i.e., you are not pinned, but your wheels stop being able to move your bot).
• Bots are allowed to lose the ability to control their competition attachment after the initial inspection (outlined below) without forfeiting the match.

Awards

There will be three awards presented at the Tournaments.

• Competition Champion: Presented to the team that wins the double-elimination bracket.
• Competition Runner-Up: Presented to the team that loses in the finals of the double elimination bracket.
• WCRL Choice: Presented to the team who excels in bot design, as selected by the judging panel and executive board based on a set of predetermined criteria.

Bot Requirements

Mobility

• All robots must have easily visible and controlled mobility in order to compete.
• Methods of mobility include but are not limited to:
  • Rolling (wheels, tracks or the whole robot)
  • No flying, hovering, or otherwise floating bots will be permitted.
  • If a bot is lifted from the floor in the normal course of the match, the bot will not be penalized.
  • Jumping bots are permitted.

Core Specifications

• The maximum weight for any bot is 453 g (1 lb).
• The maximum height for any bot is determined by the height of the arena.
  • Suggested maximum height is 25 cm.
  • Bots can be weighed on scales made available by the WCRL Executive Board
• There are no other size restrictions on bots.
• Note: The arena is 1.83m x 1.83m x 0.91m (6ft x 6ft x 3ft), so keep this in mind for bot design (More on this in section 6.1).
• Each bot shall be entirely 3D printed with an approved 3D Printing material, outlined below:
  • Permissible 3D printing materials include: ABS, PLA (and PLA variants), PETG, Resin, and TPU. Filaments not listed must be approved by the Executive Board.
  • The following items are exceptions to the 3D printed requirement: motors, wheels, electronics, axles, bearings, pins, fasteners, rubber bands, belts, adhesives
    • These items must be used in their intended fashion and can not be used to armor the bot
  • Flex seal, duct tape, or similar products, are not allowed on the bot.
  • Paint may be allowed on the bot for the purpose of decoration only. Any paint or other coating that adds structural integrity is prohibited.
• Bots cannot intentionally damage the arena

Competition Attachments (Weapons)

• All bots must have at least one independently powered, 3D printed competition attachment that can seriously affect the operation of another bot. (Note: Bots that have an attachment that cannot cause significant damage to another bot will be seen as not having a competition attachment. This includes flippers that move, but cannot move the weight of the bot with enough power to cause damage).
• A wedge is permissible, as long as it is accompanied by an additional active competition attachment.
• Spinning weapons must come to a full stop within 60 seconds of the power being removed using a self-contained braking system
• Competition attachments may be swapped between matches, but may require re-inspection.
• There is no limit on the number of competition attachments on a particular bot.
• The following items are not permitted under any circumstances:
  • Competition attachments that are in any part enhanced with a non-3D printed material
  • Heat and fire are forbidden as weapons. This includes, but is not limited to the following:
    • Flammable liquids or gases
    • Explosives or flammable solids such as:
      • DOT Class C Devices
      • Gunpowder
      • Cartridge Primers
      • Military explosives, etc.
  • Weapons that require significant cleanup, or in some way damages the arena to require repair for further matches. This includes but is not limited to:
    • Foams and liquified gases
    • Powders, sand, ball bearings and other dry chaff weapons
    • Projectiles of any type.
  • Entangling Weapons or defenses: these are weapons or defenses that can reasonably be expected to stop drive train and/or weapon motion by being wrapped around rotating parts. This includes nets, tapes, strings, and other entangling materials or devices.
  • Weapons designed to cause invisible damage to the other robot. This includes but is not limited to:
    • Electrical weapons
    • RF jamming equipment
    • RF noise generated by an IC engine
    • EMF fields from permanent/electro-magnets that affect another robot's electronics
  • Light and smoke based weapons that impair the viewing of robots by an Entrant, Judge, Official or Viewer. This includes, but is not limited to:
    • Smoke weapons
    • Lasers
    • Bright strobe lights
  • Competition attachments that purposefully detach from the bot and are left on the field.
  • Hydraulics or pneumatics.

If a team is concerned about their bot abiding by these rules, WCRL Executive Board members will be holding office hours weekly for the duration of the league. Specific design questions or concerns can also be addressed to any member of the WCRL Executive Board in a private chat.

Electronics

• LiPo Batteries that do not exceed 14 V (4s) nominally are allowed
  • Refer to Appendix 1 for more information on Battery Safety
• The maximum voltage anywhere on the bot is not to exceed 24V.
• Batteries must be sufficiently protected.
  • I.E., If one could jam the blade of a long screwdriver through gaps in the 3D printed shell/frame of the bot and hit the battery, it is not sufficiently protected.
• During the competition, the WCRL executive team will swap drained batteries for fully charged ones to prevent the need for any team to charge their own batteries.
• If you do not use a WCRL provided battery, they must be charged using a proper battery bag and charger
  • These batteries will be available in designated areas the day of the tournament, and located in EB E1 during the league.
  • Teams must return the provided battery prior to utilizing another one.
• Teams using WCRL provided batteries must have under-voltage protections in place to prevent damaging the batteries. An under-voltage alert buzzer circuit will be available to teams to use in their designs.
• Bots must have a visible LED that is on whenever the bot is on.

Kill Switches

All robots must be able to be FULLY deactivated, which includes power to drive and weaponry, in under 60 seconds by a manual disconnect.

Remote Control

• No signal jamming, or deliberate signal interference is permitted.
  • If using Bluetooth controls, renaming the Bluetooth transceiver and adding a password is required to prevent signal interference.
• Taking control of another team's bot is prohibited
• All control systems must be in compliance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations, including only accessing and utilizing permitted channels.
  • WCRL, WCRL partners, or WCRL sponsors are not liable if teams do not comply with FCC regulations.
• The type and manner of power supply for the controller are left to the team's discretion as long as the selected design does not aid the performance of the bot beyond allowing driver input to reach the bot.
• There is no restriction on the number of drivers for any one bot as long as all drivers on a team are collectively controlling one single bot.

Inspection Period

Each bot will be evaluated for rule compliance by the WCRL Executive Board or other official staff prior to being admitted to any competition or tournament. Failure to comply with the rules or pass inspection may result in disqualification from the match, competition, or tournament.

The WCRL Executive Board has the right to refuse any bot deemed particularly dangerous or damaging to people or property.

Once a bot passes inspection, the bot will then have a quick inspection prior to each match. This inspection will ensure that the bot is mobile and has a functional competition attachment (as outlined above). Both are required for a bot to be eligible to compete in the match.

Arena

• The arena is 1.83m x 1.83m x 0.91m (6ft x 6ft x 3ft)
• The arena is 1.83m x 1.83m x 0.91m (6ft x 6ft x 3ft)

Note: The floor of the arena is subject to change, and may not be perfectly flat. Testing is recommended prior to the competition to ensure your bot can traverse the arena successfully.

Once the bot is placed inside the arena, there shall be no further physical interaction with the bot by team members.

The arena may have additional active and passive field elements to contend with.

Testing

• An arena will be available in the Watson Fabrication Lab (E1)
• A bot's competition attachment can only be tested if the bot is fully within the closed arena.
  • This arena is available for use during standard Watson Fabrication Lab hours, or extended hours if a WCRL member is present
  • The lid of the arena must be closed during the entirety of the test.
• Teams may use any empty shells in the arena for testing – these shells are in limited supply, and will not be replaced on any set schedule.
  • If your team has any failed bot shells, please consider donating them for other teams to test.
• Scrimmages are allowed. Please let the WCRL executive team know if you are going to compete against another bot (we'd love to watch!)
• If your bot starts smoking during one of the tests (not the battery smoking), unplug the battery as quickly and safely as possible.
• If your battery catches fire, leave the bot where it is inside of the arena, clear the immediate area, and notify one of the shop technicians for assistance.

Use of Workspace

• While using communal spaces such as the Watson Fabrication Lab, ITC, and other spaces, teams must be responsible for:
  • Ensuring all equipment is clean and put away in the proper place.
  • Ensuring that the workspace is properly cleaned.
• Damage to equipment or the arena during bot assembly or testing should be reported to the Executive Board or a shop technician.
• Not adhering to workspace maintenance guidelines will result in action from the Executive Board.